Mechanical Tyranny: Glow of a Firefly
by TealDragonsUnite
Summary: Systems fully operational. Welcome, Project Firefly. (Multi-crossover; see DreamFluent's "Industrial Revolution II" for further information. Continuation of FrankenRush.)
1. Chapter 1

"Good afternoon, miss. Are all systems functioning appropriately?"

"Affirmative. Systems are functioning at maximum efficiency."

"You could just say 'yes'."

The F-18 paused, assessing her newly activated data banks. "Sorry, that's my fault… I'm still warming up."

Felix let out a sigh of relief. It wasn't an error. "That's fine. So long as you learn the difference between when to use formal and informal language."

"...that sounds difficult…"

"Do you know my name?"

"Yes. It's Felix Shiftwell… but there's another name I know, too… besides my own."

"You can just call me Felix, then. We're all informal here. And what was the other name?"

"Project 36, commonly known as Rush. Who is he?"

"I'm going to go get him after I make sure you're stable," the Jaguar replied, checking an external computer screen that was still connected to the plane. "I have a few more questions to ask you, as well, starting with your name. I didn't quite catch that earlier."

"I'm officially labelled as Project Firefly, but I also go by Harriet Hughes."

"Which name do you like better?"

"Firefly."

"I'll make a note of that. And what are your initial directives?"

"I have two. Be a companion for Rush, and learn as much as I can about what life is like on Earth for-."

"That'll be enough. Excellent, Firefly. I think you're done," Felix told her, then nodding slightly to the car on the other side of the hangar. "Mari, would you go get Rush, please? Just don't let him bring Streak or Neko yet." However, the Jaguar left the secondary computer on Firefly, supposedly running a final systems check out of precaution. After the other car had left, he quickly switched the program he was using, starting a scan that was _much_ more complete in its findings. "Finish what you were saying earlier about your directive.".

"...learn as much as possible about Earth to complete my databanks for the reference of others."

"Good. Don't tell or even talk about that directive to anyone but Rush, the dragons and myself. Especially not Maristella or anyone else that represents the government." Once the scan was finished, he disconnected the plane from the rest of the external computers, releasing her for the time being.

"But why shouldn't they know?"

"Because they'll deactivate you. You're illegal in their eyes."

"Is that why I look like a standard F-18?"

"Exactly. So act like it."

"Understood."

It was at that moment Felix could hear the whirring of high-tech engines just outside the hangar. "Alright, first field test. That's Rush."

Firefly perked up. "What am I supposed to do?"

The Jaguar refrained from chuckling. "Be yourself and hope he's okay with you… I think he's a little jealous."

"But why would he be-"

"Alright," it was Rush, "Felix, your student called me." His voice was like ice when he spoke of Maristella. The more they interacted, the more cold and distant they were to each other… or, rather, Rush was to her. Mari, however, had grown more vocal about her distaste for Rush. "This better be-" he stopped mid sentence to notice that Firefly was now alive and awake. The plane was a mirror image of himself besides the obvious gender difference, and Rush glared at her, perhaps in jealousy, or perhaps more because he feared what Felix had programmed her to do. Firefly's directives and programming were still very much a secret to even Rush, which is what made him wary.

"So _you're_ Rush," Firefly said, connections in her logic completing themselves as soon as she saw the plane for the first time.

"And you're Firefly," Rush snarled, " _Wonderful_ to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too," she replied, "...though your tone of voice is telling me something different. What's wrong?" Already Firefly's processors were working to try and possibly figure it out for herself, but she didn't go too far in-depth. There seemed to be a delicate balance of how much was too much.

"AI," Rush grumbled under his breath. "Nevermind what's wrong. Let's just get you up and flying before you analyze everything to death." He didn't mention that he had an itch to blast off the planet already. Even though the call of a directive was not as strong in him as most other AI, he was irritated by Firefly and still adjusting to his new body, which was making him thrice as disagreeable as ever.

"But I'm not programmed to analyze _everything_ ," she attempted to argue, but stopped when she heard the prospect of flying. That sounded like it would be fun… whatever fun was, but she figured it was a good thing. "Okay, flying then." She started her engines out of instinct to warm them, not realizing at first that the sound tended to echo in hangars, which tended to get very loud, very fast.

"Not in here!" Felix yelled, trying to make himself heard over the noise before it became deafening, moving to the hangar door and opening it the rest of the way. "Outside!"


	2. Chapter 2

"I'll monitor her," Rush grimaced. "I forgot how impulsive wires and circuits can be." Following her tail closely, he spun around in front of her before she went and took off without knowing what to do. "Alright," he snapped at her, "did you hear what Felix said, because if you didn't you might just go and blow the whole operation you were built for. Lesson 1: Always listen. If you don't listen, you might slip up later on… it could cost you your life, or worse, someone else's life. Other than that, good luck with flying. I haven't flown like this yet either, and you actually have the programming already in you to be able to, so you'd better know what you're doing while you're teaching me."

Firefly had to pause for a second to fully process what Rush was saying. Accessing the information she had on him, she quickly understood. He wasn't programmed to be the type of plane he was, but that in itself shouldn't matter too much. She moved on for the time being. In-depth analysis was for later. "Flying's easy," she said brightly, nudging Rush's wing a little, "Besides, you're the one that's supposed to be 'monitoring' me, so you'll have to learn pretty fast, too. Oh wait, I _was_ listening. Lesson learned," she added, not noticing that the road narrowed and almost running into another hangar along the way, though it was uncertain if she actually cared or not, even if she caught herself before any damage was done.

"Lesson 2: Watch where you're going while we're at it." Rush muttered as they approached the beginning of the runway. He promptly got permission for takeoff, then.

Firefly followed closely behind, listening to how to communicate with the tower while trying to find a way to fix her mistake. For some reason it was different when it wasn't Felix scolding her. "I'm assuming you want me to take off first," she said, though she was already in the right spot on the runway to do so. Allowing automated instinct to take over, she fired up her engines and took off… although she didn't use as much of the runway as any normal plane would, she thought she'd been on the ground long enough.

Rush followed suite, struggling immensely with transitioning from taildragger to F-18 in takeoff. Although equipment allowed him to use just a minute amount of runway, he pushed it by using almost the whole expanse. It was nothing short of fear that made him cling on to old habits rather than new technology. Even though he was much more experienced than Firefly, to most it might look as if he had just been taken out of the manufacturer.

"That wasn't so difficult, was it?" Firefly asked, though in all honesty she was overwhelmed with the feeling of being in the sky, uncertain though she was. Being in the air was difficult at first, but, once she picked up on the wind current patterns, it wasn't hard at all. She rocketed almost straight upwards until she hit 50,000 feet, leveling out and not going above that height - she had to act as if she had an altitude ceiling. Eventually, she figured out how to drop back down to where Rush was, deciding to use some slang she'd found in her vocabulary database… perhaps it would sound less formal… maybe even friendly. "Are you getting the hang of it yet?"

In reality, Rush was not at all. The immense speeds they were traveling at were so much more thrilling and frightening than those of a Corsair's. He felt as if he were out of control, buzzing about a clear blue sky without knowing what he was doing or how he was doing it. It was difficult even to respond as his words were pushed back into his mouth, "I can't just 'get the hang of it', as you say.."

 _Slang isn't for me, apparently._ Firefly was quiet for a minute, gradually slowing so that Rush didn't have to catch up to her. Already she'd encountered her first puzzle… she wasn't sure if she liked not knowing something. "Why not? Most planes are built almost the same. Ailerons, flaps, rudders… from what's in my database already, you were a Corsair…other than being a jet now, there's not much difference."

Rush could honestly say he wanted to shoot her out of the sky in that moment. "What the heck would you know? You're a stupid mess of wires and programming. You couldn't possibly understand the tangle of information messing with my head... not every plane is built the same, and being an old fashioned Corsair is nothing like being this blasted spaceship."

"Isn't a 'mess of wires and programming' what you are, too?" Firefly said, distancing herself slightly from the obviously annoyed plane. She had more questions than answers… and Rush wasn't okay with that for some reason. She didn't understand. "Unless my database is incorrect somehow, you're AI… but you don't seem like it."

"Yes, I'm AI," Rush admitted, "but I've been around the block a time or two." He felt it difficult to explain how... strange he was compared to her. Nobody quite knew how far he'd gotten to becoming almost human, and nobody could begin to explain why or how. "523 years," he sighed, "When you know you're AI..." He just couldn't explain it. Whenever he did, his mind seemed to revert back to computers and programming rather than feelings and experience. "I can't answer that one... But I think part of it has to do with the fact I was built when humans- real, unconverted humans- still were around. I remain one of the only AI machines that know what I am. I don't know if any of it has to do with what I am, but people have theories. Try asking Dottie or Felix sometime if you really want to understand."

"If AI does not know what it is… what does it think it is?" There were too many questions, but the most driving of them all had to do with her directive. What was wrong with the AI? What was so corrupt about the earth?

"It thinks of itself like everyone else. It confuses itself with humankind. And worse of all, it doesn't even know what humankind is."

"...their databases are tampered with? They'd have to at _least_ know their directives…" she said, running calculations and trying to understand what Rush was explaining, but her thoughts were suddenly drowned out by a warning of some sort. "Fuel's low. I have to land," she said quickly, looping back around and connecting to the tower, mimicking how Rush had requested permission to take off… with necessary changes to reflect the situation. Once she had received access to the runway, she attempted landing as best as she could - even if she almost went off the edge of the plateau in the process - but Rush wasn't right behind her at first. Had she left him behind?

Rush had also requested landing, but had to loop around and come in a second time. It wasn't the smoothest landing a plane had ever made, as he kept overcorrecting to adjust from taildragger to nose gear. Even so, he managed not to crash, which was the most important thing as of the moment. Rolling up to where Firefly was taxiing, he harrumphed, "Thanks for leaving me in the dust back there."

"...I didn't realize until after I landed. Sorry." The plane looked almost sheepish, merely expressing what she thought was the correct response for the situation. "Wait… why did you say 'thanks'? I thought I wasn't supposed to leave you behind."

Rush rolled off grumbling. " _Somebody_ doesn't know what sarcasm is…"

"Yeah…" a bright coloured dragon seemed to pop out of nowhere from beside Firefly, "Sorry about him. He's not so friendly to new people… I promise you he'll get better eventually. So, you must be Felix's experiment, Firefly. I'm Streak!"

Firefly almost startled until she realized she already knew what dragons were - she had yet to completely go through and process all the information in her database. Dragons were very strange creatures, apparently. "Hello, Streak," she replied, nodding slightly, "I hope you're right about him, though. I'm supposed to be helping and I'm just making everything worse." The plane turned away a little, but had already learned not to leave others behind. That wasn't very nice. "I know everything there is to know about him and I _still_ failed."

"Maybe that's just it," Streak hypothesized, "most people feel uncomfortable when someone knows everything about them while that person doesn't know you. Even if Rush knows of you, Felix has kept your coding relatively secret."

"I'm not hiding anything from him, though… I'm not programmed to. If Felix kept any of my coding secret it was because of something else... likely the government, specifically anyone who identifies with it." She was going through her own security protocols at this point, somewhat curious. "The only ones I'm supposed to fully trust are Felix, Rush, and you… should I explain that to him?"

Streak shook his head. "Sometimes getting to know someone is the best thing there could be. Try to... I don't know... humor him if you can. Allow him to share what he wants you to know, and don't ever... ever... mention Glendalcanal."

It took a split second for Firefly to register what the dragon meant about Glendalcanal… the events were already in her database. "...I don't think I'd want to say anything about that, from the sound of it." The plane paused for a moment, trying to figure out the other part of what Streak was saying. It'd be illogical to do as such, but being logical had gotten her nowhere. "But if I act a little more like an actual human…? Would that help at all?"

"If you can," Streak agreed. "...just don't act like you know everything about someone, even if you do. Okay?"

Though she still didn't understand, she was beginning to figure it out… humans, while somewhat similar, also tended to rely a lot more on their emotions, and not purely on logic. "...I don't know how well I'd be able to, but I can try."

The dragon nodded, "That's all I ask, really… So, how was your first flight anyway?"

"Other than accidentally leaving Rush behind? ...I guess it was what would be considered 'fun'. Except for figuring out air currents at first. Calculations don't really work when a wind gust happens."

"Oh please," Streak laughed, "just go with your gut on wind currents… don't overthink it. You can't trust your calculations all the time, you've got to guess and make mistakes sometimes… but overall, it should be worth it to learn to trust your flight instinct. Especially if you're going to S-P-A-C-E."

"Why did you spell 'spa-'... oh… that's secret… so you spelled it. Okay." She actually figured something out without asking a question! "But… how do you rely on instincts without making calculations to back them up? Isn't that… not safe?"

"Not always," Streak explained, "but making calculations isn't always the safest route either. See, you need to find a balance, and you can only find that with experimentation."

Firefly already knew that… somewhat. If she wasn't so newly activated and Rush knew how to fly better, they would've left the planet already. She needed experience. "...that sounds like it might not end well, but… I guess I still have a lot to learn," she admitted. The world wasn't a place where everything would work… be it proven in theory or not.

"Eventually you'll get it. You know, knowing Felix," Streak suddenly changed subjects, "he probably wants to know how flying went."

"Likely… and maybe you should go find Rush. You're probably a better friend for him right now." Firefly wasn't beating herself up about it; she was going off of pure logic. Streak obviously had known Rush for a lot longer than she had, and therefore knew how he was without relying on a database.

Shaking his head, the dragon started heading towards where Felix was currently biding his time. "No. Rush is a temperamental plane who needs his space sometimes. Judging by the way he was acting when I saw him last, now more than ever is a time to let him cool off."

"'Cool off' as in… he's really mad right now." Firefly was more talking to herself rather than Streak, as she was still only in the beginning stages of assessing her main database. She knew she was being awkward, but she couldn't help it. "Sorry… trying to figure out what I know and what I don't." Regardless, she was content to report back to the hangar she'd been activated in. It seemed like a safe zone of sorts.

"It's fine," Streak grinned, "I understand. It'd be weird to know nothing yet everything at the same time."


	3. Chapter 3

It was a few moments before they arrived at the hanger, and Streak busted in. "You know Rush hates Firefly, right?"

Felix almost jumped when he heard Streak and Firefly return, though in all reality he didn't really have the reasoning to do so. "Yes, I know… she doesn't have enough experience to be a very good companion for him yet."

"But isn't it my directive?" Firefly butted in, more out of curiosity than anything.

"It is one of your directives, yes, but it's one that's going to be difficult to fulfill right after being activated. Rush was the same way at first... he was possibly even more awkward than you are right now, but he eventually learned how to express emotions and be a friend, for the most part. The same goes for you. You have to learn how to understand and actually feel emotions."

"Streak already told me that. I don't want to be irrational."

"But you probably already know what a thrill feels like. You just flew for the first time."

"Thrill? Excitement, exhilaration, surge, adrenaline rush… but… what is that supposed to feel like?"

Felix wanted to compare it to other experiences, but not the feeling itself. It didn't help that he didn't experience many emotions anymore, though. "It's like… er… I've never been able to describe it. Streak?"

Streak thought for a long moment. "I don't know what machines feel, but if there was ever a feeling of exhilaration I knew, it was when my hearts were beating simply because of it. And there was a... a glowing feeling emanating from my chest into the rest of my body. A… surge of energy entering into every fiber of my being? I don't know... there's no good way of saying it."

"Streak's probably right… you'll understand what emotions are eventually, hopefully before you and Rush have to leave." Felix looked rather thoughtful for a minute, then continued. "The only problem is that I never know what's going to trigger it. It depends on the circumstances. Something either inspirational or traumatic should be the key."

"Maybe they should embark on their mission as soon as they can fly well," Streak suggested, "space travel would definitely unlock emotions in me if I were emotionless... That and you never know when They'll find out about our little scheme."

"But how am I going to learn enough about Earth by then? I have to-"

"I know," Felix said quickly, "You have to record as much as possible for the Federation. I'll explain what I have to, but when you're not practicing flying, you either need to get to know Rush or associate yourself with other vehicles around this town. First lesson, however, is that there IS tyranny on this planet." He paused, making sure Firefly was paying attention. "Humans are forbidden from speaking of the Revolution. Some don't even remember that they were once human… I had to edit memories at one point, and I know it's not a side effect of conversion. It's applied, specifically to rebels. Anything to keep people under control of the government."

Firefly nodded slightly in understanding. She already knew a lot about the Revolution, but not its full implications. There _was_ a good reason why she needed to learn about what was happening… it was not good in the slightest. "Should I… go talk to Rush now? ...he was really mad earlier… and I think I know how to act a little more like a human."

"You could try," Streak said, "but it's your funeral."

"I'm not programmed to die," Firefly said lightly, rolling out the door anyways. She'd already made up her mind.

"You don't know how much damage you can take, for one," Felix muttered, rolling his eyes. He had to admit that AI was just _slightly_ annoying at first… even if he was the one that programmed them. They always learned eventually, but it was a process that needed to be monitored as closely as possible, which was something Felix knew there wouldn't be time for. He resolved to keep an eye on the situation regardless, exiting the hangar after he thought Firefly had gone far enough away so she wouldn't hear him. "We're going to have to intervene if something goes wrong," he told Streak quickly, "If worse comes to worse, I've got a shutdown code on Firefly that'll put her in a stasis until we can sort things out." Normally Felix wouldn't have taken such a precaution… but Rush had the war directive, and it was obvious that he didn't like other AI.

"I don't think you'll need it," Streak dismissed, "but with all that's going on, I'm not really sure how Rush'll react. I can keep an eye on her if you want me to."

"It'd probably be better if you did. He doesn't necessarily trust me… but that's just the problem. I don't know much of this situation, either. I haven't been around him long enough." Felix watched for a moment as Firefly figured out what a doorbell was, thankfully not being obnoxious by pushing the button more than once.

Rush answered, glaring but not yet objecting her call. Streak watched carefully, "You're the one who programmed him, though. Shouldn't you be able to accurately predict any one of his responses?"

"I didn't think that he'd gain enough of a soul for Neko to read his mind. Anything's possible."


	4. Chapter 4

Firefly shirked back a little, almost in preparation to just come back later, but decided against it at the last second. She had to figure out Rush, and the only way to do that was to face him, regardless of danger. "I would say that I'm sorry about earlier," she said, not loud enough to be very audible to the onlookers, "...but I don't know what being sorry is like yet. Is there a possibility we could… I think it's 'start over'?"

Rush harrumphed. "Slim. This crawling up and begging for mercy isn't a good start." All he wanted to do was to get away from his counterpart, yet he knew that any attempt would reap no results. "It's time we at least give proper introductions. I know you know my name already, and I know yours, but I'm going to act civilized and say my name anyway. It's Rush."

"And I'm Harriet, but I prefer Firefly," the plane replied, "Though I don't think I'm necessarily 'begging for mercy.' It'd probably be better if we weren't enemies… I don't even know how long it's going to take to find the Federation, and we're going to have to find it as a team."

"I'm looking forwards to it," Rush almost growled. "So, if you're so set on trying to allow us to get along, how do you intend to do that?"

"I have no idea whatsoever. That's why I was asking you." Perhaps if she could use Streak's suggestion to act more human… maybe that was all she had to do. Even if she thought she had the answer already, it was probably wrong. All she knew was what was in her database.

Rush rolled his eyes. "Right. The first step might be to stop nagging me out of my mind. I'm not your master and I'm not your friend, so quit following me."

"Understood." In all reality, though, she really didn't. How was she supposed to help him if she had to stay away from him? It didn't compute, but she had to obey. "...was there anything else?"

Rush started to shake his head before Streak bounded up to the two planes. "No, no, no! Rush, be nice, and Fire, don't submit like that! Ya'll need to stop what you're doing and think good and hard about how this is the exact opposite of what you're supposed to be doing."

""But I'm supposed to-" Firefly replied, but stopped halfway… her directive was to help Rush, not do as he says. "No. Correction. I'm supposed to _help_ you, Rush. I may never be your friend, but I'm still here for you, and we both have to go on that mission. Which means I can't leave you alone _all_ the time."

Rush snorted. "Then what do you propose to do? Follow me around all the time, always asking questions and putting me in places I'd rather not be? I've already got one Streak to deal with, and I don't need another."

"Hey!" Streak complained.

"I said 'not _all_ the time.' I have other directives I need to follow before we have to leave, as well. Most of them don't include you specifically, so I'll just have to 'manage my time,' as you'd probably call it."

Rush actually managed a grin. "Good. If you _do_ need me, you're free to let me know, but just because you get the urge to complete a directive doesn't mean I'll just drop everything at that moment."

"You know just as well as I that directives don't work like that," she shot back, merely correcting him but at the same time sounding almost annoyed… even if she didn't know what being annoyed really felt like.

"Then it's been too long since I was actual AI to remember," Rush hissed, being aggravated by Firefly's annoyance. "Hasn't it?"

"Even if you don't have to follow them all the time, they're not eliminated from your coding. You're still AI, no matter how human you act."

"I'm _not_ human," he seethed, "humans are better than what I am. But I am _not_ your average artificial intelligence, either. Hardly that, in fact."

"Why do you say that humans are better? ...They're just different."

Almost about to yell again, Rush stopped and took a breath before continuing. "Humans created us: human minds that have so much more freedom, intelligence, and creativity. AI -even myself- is controlled by directives. There's only so much we can think, so much we can come up with... so much we can do, yet the human mind... It's far more clever than that. It can morph and adapt when machines can't."

 _But machines can adapt, too… no. This argument's gone on long enough. Initiate protocol Peacekeeper._ "I still have yet to learn much about humans as a species… making connections to them, anyways. They seem important from what I have in my database. I don't want to bother you, however, if that is what I'm doing right now."

"They _are_ important," Rush grumbled, but said nothing further. "If I'm honest-" Streak slapped him with his tail. Rush glared. "Look, maybe we need to approach this from another angle. Shall we try flying again tomorrow?"

"I don't exactly have a schedule to keep, so I suppose that works." _Only if the government visits this town do we need to expedite things,_ she told herself, _Not before._


	5. Chapter 5

Meanwhile, Streak butted in. "Ya'll should get to know the town today. You already tried flying, now you should do some talking."

"Who is there to meet?" Firefly asked, looking around a little. There didn't seem to be anyone, as far as she could tell.

"Tera, Clara, Foxtrot, Chug, Dottie, Dusty... Leadbottom," he smirked as he said Leadbottom's name.

"Leadbottom? ...you sounded like you were joking."

"Nope," Streak grinned, grabbing Firefly by the wing and pulling her along. "Come on!"

"I don't have a choice, apparently." The plane followed Streak, rather confused, as they went further into the outskirts of town than they'd ever gone before. "Who is this 'Leadbottom' anyways?"

"Nobody," Streak dismissed. "Just Dusty's old crazy boss who's totally coo-coo. No offense to him, but he needs to get new hobbies… but then again, he can't help it. Poor old plane." They stopped at an old beat up hangar which seemed to be standing still from the human ages… it probably WAS from before the Second Industrial Revolution. Streak rapped upon the door and waited for a response.

In a moment, the older biplane slid the hangar door open, quickly launching into his traditional greeting. "Well hi, there, Streak! Who's your friend? I'd ask if she was interested in a job, but those new-fangled jets ain't any good out in these parts."

"And the job would be…?" Firefly asked, somewhat curious.

"Crop-dusting, of course! What do I look like? A blimp? No, I'm a crop-duster! Nothing better to do with your life than dust crops, I say."

"Indeed! Firefly just wanted to drop by and say hello. You know, newbies always want to explore."

"Newbies? Explorin'? All I ever really wanted to do was dust crops. You're sure you don't want a job here? Dottie'll prob'ly be happy to fix ya if yer directive isn't-"

"They are not. And I don't want them to be," Firefly stated simply. "And I think I've learned enough about dusting crops if that's all you're going to talk about." Something was eating at her. She didn't know what it was… an emotion? Perhaps that was what 'annoyed' felt like. She didn't want to be there anymore, if it was the case. She didn't like it.

"Oh, there's plenty to learn! You gotta get the technique down, and I could teach you if ya want! All you gotta get is a sprayer and a prop and-"

"But it's not my directive. I can't tell you what they are, but they're not dusting crops."

"Well, why else would you be out here?"

"Because Streak thought it was a good idea." She looked around, trying to figure out something else to talk about. "...the chemistry of that fertilizer over there?"

"Oh, I don't know what's in it. Just that it smells like heaven on earth!"

"What's heaven?"

"Don't know. Dusty said it was a great place a while back. Somewhere so far away planes can't even fly there. Must be like a giant cornfield or somethin'."

 _Like space?_ "...who's Dusty?"

"A crop duster. Best duster I've ever known, but he doesn't like dusting crops. Crazy, if you ask me."

"Why is he crazy?"

"He doesn't follow his directive! Didn't you hear me?" The biplane almost seemed disgusted by the word 'directive,' as if it were one of profanity and not a state of fact. "One minute he's a crop duster, next he's a racer and then suddenly he's the town firefighter… it just ain't natural. Not for us, anyway."

Firefly paused, trying to figure out what to say next. She already knew she wasn't supposed to explain what humans were. "Why can't someone break their directive?"

"Because they can't! And it was nice talkin' to ya, but the crops need dustin'... and you might wanna take her back to wherever she came from, Streak. She's not right in the processor." And with that, Leadbottom was off, apparently already ready to do his job in the first place. He always was.

Firefly ran a system scan to ensure that the biplane had no idea what he was talking about when it came to her functionality. She was fine. "...is he the rule or the exception?" she asked, making comparisons to her own behavior over the first few hours of her life. Difference of circumstances aside, they were almost the same. "Is that how all AI is perceived?"

"The exception. But I mostly wanted you to meet him because to Rush, and a lot of others… well, that's how AI is to a certain extent. Especially fresh off the assembly line, like you," Streak said. "No offense."

"Why would I take offence? It's true… I've been trying to act more human, but it isn't working. The only difference between Leadbottom and myself is that I question things."

The dragon patted the jet's side. "That's a start. You'll get it eventually. So!" He scampered forwards with excitement. "Would you like to meet Dusty now? Or Skipper? Or Otter? Or Tera? Or Dottie? Or Clara, or Foxtrot, or Chug?"

"From what Leadbottom was saying, Dusty is likely a human," Firefly said, instantly recalling the name that sounded familiar. "I have no preference as to who I meet, if anyone."

"Well you gotta meet someone, and since you mentioned Dusty, Dusty it shall be! He's a nice plane, he is. His heart's in the right place… but doesn't always do the right things… but never anything really horrible…" Streak rambled on until they arrived to Dusty's place. Knocking on the door, Streak peeked through a window in almost a stalker-ish way. "He's in there, so he'll come out."

Firefly looked a little confused. "...so he's good… and bad?"

"Most people are. But yeah, I guess," Streak shrugged.

"...I guess I still have a lot to learn. That wasn't in my database… I just know how to identify them. They change a lot."


	6. Chapter 6

The crop duster finally opened the hangar door. "Hello? Oh, hi, Streak. And… I don't think I've met you before," he said, turning to the other plane. "What's your name?"

"I'm Firefly… I'm kind of new, so Streak was letting me meet some of the others." It was obvious that she was rather clueless when it came to introducing herself.

"Yep, and you're our second stop."

"Second?"

"...I met Leadbottom first. He kept saying that you didn't follow your directive."

"I didn't want to be a crop duster for the rest of my life," he said, almost shrugging.

"But do you have a directive?"

"Do I have to have one?"

Streak pushed Firefly to the side a bit, using his great size and weight to his advantage. His smile was sheepish and almost apologetic. "Sorry, she's right off the assembly line. Doesn't know when or when not to ask questions."

The plane steadied herself, almost glaring at Streak, even if she didn't understand why it seemed like the appropriate action at the time. "I need to know, though… humans are already different enough as it is but you look like AI. If most vehicles are designed for a singular purpose, does it impact your apparent lack of a directive?"

Dusty was speechless. "Ehhh," Streak interrupted the silence, "Fire, vehicles can do a lot more than what you first think they can. Maybe a plane can't be a car or a car a plane, but there's a lot each can do beyond their intended purpose."

"That's not what I mean. Humans are more free than that, which is why I needed to ask one. If the Revolution was supposed to help humans live beyond the apocalypse… what happened to make it so bad?" The only thing on Firefly's mind was filling in the blanks in her database. She didn't care about whatever 'social graces' were supposed to be.

Dusty was still silent for a moment, obviously weirded out by the situation. "Look… Firefly? We're really not supposed to be talking about all that. Pick the wrong person and you might be arrested."

Streak hastily agreed. "These questions are better asked towards Felix, who can actually help you answer them…" Even Streak didn't know the whole story… just bits and pieces here and there. He was curious. "Wanna go back?"

"...it would probably be the best course of action."

"Right." Then Streak turned to Dusty, patting the plane's nose cap with one claw. "See you later!"

"Uh… bye?" Dusty said, beyond confused as to what exactly had just happened. But then again… he'd had to deal with Leadbottom for years, and he'd acted just about the same as that new plane. Maybe she'd learn eventually… but then again, he was beginning to doubt the ability of AI in the first place.

xXx

"...and why, exactly, did you let her talk to people without letting her know what social graces are?" Felix wished more than anything that he could express how unplanned - and potentially dangerous - Streak's actions were, but he couldn't blame the dragon… even if he really, _really_ , wanted to.

The dragon shrugged, "It's not my fault she went and blabbed."

"I know. If anything, I should've been there monitoring her… she's too new to blend in very well." In all actuality, he was lucky that they were in a town like Propwash. For whatever reason, the residents seemed to be mostly unfazed by strange things happening. That, and the only government agent living there at the time was Maristella, so they were relatively safe. As far as he knew, anyways.

Streak tossed one claw through the air. "Pssh… she's perfect to fit in Propwash. All of us are weird… I mean, what about me? I'm a _dragon_. Do you think I fit in well?" He smirked, "Of course I do!"

"It's not _that_ kind of weird. She shouldn't have been talking about the Revolution in the first place… even a dragon is more acceptable than that."

The dragon shrugged. "It's a free country."

"That's the illusion of it, yes. But there's also some things you really, really can't talk about. And there are other things that just aren't allowed. Like space travel."

"Well this is Propwash. We're a bunch of crazies not to be taken seriously," Streak grinned.

"That doesn't even make any sense. They take _everything_ seriously." Felix wished the dragon knew how the government was… but then again, he didn't know much about it, either.

Streak stuck out his tongue in defiance. " _You_ don't make any sense."

"How am _I_ the one not making any sense? _You_ haven't had to deal with the government before."

"No, but I know enough to know that you know that Propwash is odd, and that it shouldn't be taken seriously… I mean, you're talking to a dragon. Anyone from out of town who heard that and hadn't met me would think you're insane. A lot of us, in a way, might just be that."

"The AI probably wouldn't be trusted, no. But the humans are mostly sane. It'd only take one viable witness…"

It clicked. "Maristella…"

"Either her or someone else They'd see as trustworthy. That's why I had to program Firefly a bit differently… I don't know when or if Mari's going to figure out what Firefly's meant for… hopefully she won't." Felix couldn't help but feel paranoid… not only was it his natural state nowadays, but he also felt like he needed to sensor what he was saying. Having a student that could turn him in like that was annoying.

"All the more reason to get them in the sky as soon as possible," Streak stated darkly. "We can't wait for much longer."

"I know… but I also have to know for sure that Firefly's stable enough to do what she's supposed to. If she malfunctions, Rush would be stranded out in space." Of course, that wasn't the half of it, but Felix figured that it would be enough explanation.

"Good point," Streak agreed. "But come on, she just needs to be able to fly and I think she'll be fine. There's not much else to it… I don't think."

"...it's more than that. Her database is comprised of every piece of information, forbidden or otherwise, that I could find on what's happening here on Earth. Without it, any help they find out there wouldn't understand the scope of what they're dealing with." _Or they'd have to take her apart if she can't access it by then._

Rubbing his head, the dragon groaned, "Why do you make everything so complicated? Why don't you just teach her what she needs to know already?"

"At least 500-to-1000-years' worth of detailed history to be taught in an indeterminate amount of time… that, and I don't know what of that the Federation would find valuable and what they wouldn't. They may possibly have a false account of what happened, as well." That, and he just plain didn't like lecturing history. It was boring in that much detail.

"Then why didn't you just program that stuff into her from the start?"

"I did. It's in her database, but she can't access all of it yet… or understand it, anyways. Connections like that can't be programmed, and, sometimes, emotion might be the only key to it."

"That's helpful," Streak said with thick sarcasm.

"Extremely… she has too much programming for her own good. If she can't express herself before she actually has to… that wouldn't be good."

The dragon shrugged, "So let Rush do the talking and Firefly do the rest?"

"...that might be the only way… or, worst case scenario, they might be able to take her database out to get the information from it… if their systems are compatible."

"And why would that be bad?" Streak asked.

"It would… oh, I don't know. Something. Look at me, I'm talking in circles." He pulled up his computer for a minute before stopping himself, shutting it down again. "...I just need to make sure this all goes right."

Setting a claw on Felix's hood, Streak sighed. "It'll be alright."

"We only have one chance to make it work… if it doesn't, they'd probably be lost in space and there wouldn't be any hope left for this planet." He wished that he could figure out exactly _where_ the Federation was… it would make everything so much more predictable.

"Hmmm… But we also can't sit here on our bumpers and wait for someone to catch us, either."

"I know… but…" he wouldn't - couldn't - let things be put up to chance. He didn't want to risk losing Rush again… but it'd be certain that he would if they didn't go. He was already messing with alien technology, which was illegal. Both Rush and Firefly would probably be confiscated. He sighed. "Okay. Let's see if we can get them out by the end of the week. Maximum."

Nodding, Streak agreed. "So what do we do to prepare them both?"

Felix's eyes lit up, already putting together a plan in his mind. They had to do this. Failure wasn't an option anymore. "First, they both need to know how to fly. Firefly seemed to be okay, but Rush still isn't comfortable enough with being a jet. It's different in space, but he at least needs to know how to fly in air. And second… they need to get along. Or, rather, Rush needs to tolerate Firefly. They're going to be flying together for who-knows-how-long until they find the Federation. They can't be fighting."

"What about fuel," Streak asked. "It takes a lot for space travel… but then again, once you get going it's difficult to stop."

"Actually… I don't think that's going to be a problem. They have jet engines… but there's another type of engine that's hidden with the cloaking hologram. It looked sustainable for space travel… but I don't know exactly _how_ they're powered." Admittedly, it was hard to explain something he didn't quite understand. It was most certainly alien technology, but other than that he wasn't sure, even with the extensive scans he had done on the planes before he activated them.

Streak nodded, "Then maybe you should also make sure those are completely operational first?"

"They probably are… system scans on Firefly showed that everything was functional. I'm not tampering with something that I might end up breaking. It's alien." Felix supposed that if he wanted to double check functionality, he might be able to reverse-engineer the engine… but there wasn't enough time. And he didn't have the equipment or materials.

"Good. So… what's the first step? What can we start doing now?"

"Flight testing, maybe. If there's enough cloud cover we might be able to figure out how those - I think Rush called them warp engines - are going to work."

At this point, Streak became excited. Stretching out his wings, he grinned. "I betcha this'll be fun," he said, flapping the limbs several times. "Let's go get 'em!"

"At the very least, it should be interesting," Felix almost chuckled at the thought… after what happened the first time, he already assumed that Firefly and Rush wouldn't get along well. But, then again, most AI started out the same way - annoying. Rush would just have to deal with it.

"Where is Rush, anyway?" Streak asked, "He's been avoiding Firefly, I know that much… but he just kinda, disappeared when we went to talking to the townsfolk."


	7. Chapter 7

"He's not in his hangar? That's where I saw him last… unless he went to try flying again or something." Felix had to admit that he was a little worried about that prospect… even if he relatively trusted Rush, there was still a risk factor in it that he couldn't ignore.

Glancing up at the sky at the thought, and actually focusing on what was going on around him, Streak could hear the whine of a jet engine… but not a jet engine… it had a pulsating undertone to it, like a heartbeat… a slow, steady, mechanical heartbeat. Something he could only match up to the sound of both Rush and Firefly's engines. "He's flying," Streak responded flatly, pointing a claw up towards a speeding dot in the sky. But his face revealed a worried demeanor. "And not well, by the sound of it."

"...oh no…" Felix looked up… except he didn't notice the dot. He noticed how the sky almost seemed to bend around it. Rush would be a UFO report if anyone else saw. "...don't go after him. Not yet. Let's see if we can talk him down," he told Streak, pulling up his computer quickly and opening what looked like a calling screen. "Rush? Are you there?"

There was static, then a garbled and almost frightened, "Affirmative."

"Thank goodness this works," Felix said almost to himself, quickly getting back on topic. "What are you doing up there?! You're going to get either hurt, killed or reported, and I really don't know which of the three is worse."

"I _was_ going to see if I could figure out to fly in this thing, but impulse warp engines decided to kick in and now I can't turn them off."

"Have you tried diverting power back to your jet engines?" A rather basic suggestion… but maybe it had been overlooked. That, and it gave him a little more time to work out a real plan if need be.

"Yes, but the problem is I have no clue how to do it! This body isn't something I'm used to, Felix. I didn't ask for this!"

The Jaguar knew what Rush meant. It'd taken him months to learn to control his computer… and even if it was hundreds of years ago, back then it'd felt like an eternity. And now he'd put Rush through the same thing unwittingly. "Think of it like a mental switch. You can't have both sets of engines running at once… if you activate your jet engines, then the warp engines should shut down automatically."

Focusing on doing just that, he couldn't seem to do either, and he continued to streak across the sky at impossible speeds. It was several more seconds before he felt something readjust itself so he was slowing down, and eventually had returned to the normal speeds of an F-18 -still much faster than his former self could go.

Felix glanced back up at the sky - the distortion around Rush was gradually fading away, as well. He hoped more than anything that no one else had seen it. Especially not Maristella. "Good, that worked. I'd land before something else happens, though, if I were you."

"I would," Rush snarled on the other end, "but a landing would be suicide at the moment. Just because my warp and impulse engines are currently off doesn't mean they'll remain that way." As he was speaking, he was attempting to slow even further down -back to a comfortable speed just about his current stall speed… not that it was comfortable to fly in, but it was what he was used to.

"Would you rather me send Firefly after you? She might be able to help." Felix almost felt like he was threatening Rush with the idea… but Firefly was the only one that could realistically catch up to him.

As much as he hated to admit it, it was his only viable option. "Please do," he growled, but void of sarcasm and thick with seriousness.

"Alright, we're working on it right now," Felix said quickly, motioning to Streak to go find her.

The dragon did as he was told. "FIIIIIIREFLYYYYYYYYY!" he bellowed, running about Propwash in a lopsided, frantic manner.

Of course, the other F-18 wasn't too far away - she didn't have much to do, and she'd overheard Felix's comment on her social skills being an issue. Instead, she decided that studying the wildlife would be a better idea. "What's wrong, Streak?" she asked quickly, "Or are you distressed? ...I'm not sure if I'm reading you right."

"Nevermind that. Rush is stuck in the air and he can't get down without your help," he explained in a rushed manner, already pushing the plane towards the runway.

Firefly lurched forward a little, not particularly wanting to be pushed, but going in the same direction anyways. "But how is he stuck in the air? Can't he just land?"

The dragon shook his head, his ears flopping around. "No. He can't figure out how to."

 _...because he wasn't programmed to be this type of plane._ "I don't know what I can do, but I can try," she said, allowing her engines to warm up for a minute. She attempted to pinpoint where exactly Rush was, but he was too far up, apparently.

"You gotta hurry," Streak said, glancing towards the sky above, "I don't know how much fuel he has, and if anyone sees him they'll be suspicious."

"Understood," she said quickly, looking back for a split second before rolling onto the runway and taking to the sky; she flew as high as she'd been told she was allowed, but found that Rush had to be higher still. And the sky looked strange. Determining that the situation at the moment was more important than obeying an order, she continued flying upwards, eventually getting a visual on the other plane. "Are you using your warp drive?" she asked, having activated her radio - she couldn't keep up with him using only her jet engines.

"Impulse engines, yes…" he responded. "At least, I think so." Everything was jumbled up -command functions were being scattered across his mind and processors like nothing he could control. It was like being a brand new plane again… and that was not something he had wanted to go through twice. "I haven't reached warp one yet, thank goodness," he said, panting, "but I can't slow down much."

"Try setting up a - I think it's called a filter. Warp and impulse engines are for space, and jet engines are for atmospheric conditions." She had no idea if she was helping or not - that was just what was programmed into her.

He tried to focus his mind on filtering out thoughts -trying to relax his racing mind and regain control over himself. For a second, he thought he felt his impulse engines sputter and die, but just as soon as he did, they came back to life with a _whoosh_. "Not working."

"I don't know why it wouldn't… it did for a second, I thought I saw it. You have to tell those engines that they can't be operating right now. Or whenever you're flying in atmosphere."

"Easier said than done," Rush growled, but tried again. This time something clicked off, and Rush found himself dropping speed and altitude at an alarming rate. They were high enough so that he had quite a bit of time to recover, but he still wasn't used to being a jet, and every correction he tried to make automatically only ended up getting him into more trouble.

Firefly quickly dove, finally able to get closer to Rush. "Make sure your jet engines don't shut down, too," she said, trying to figure out what was going on at the same time, "Keep your tail lower than your nose if you can." _This is one of my directives… I_ can't _fail._


	8. Chapter 8

Everything Rush seemed to do was futile, but at least Firefly's instructions were making his descent much less worrisome. His jet engines automatically kicked back in, and he steadied himself as best he could. "Your comment about me still being AI… I can feel that factor now," he almost groaned.

"I don't see how you _couldn't_ feel it… but I suppose I'm too new to understand why. Kind of like why emotions exist." Firefly was keeping a somewhat safe distance away from Rush just in case he glitched again, though she was still within talking range.

Slowly but steadily, the other F-18 was regaining control over his flight. Not comfortably, but at least he was flying straight -and at normal speeds for his model. "Don't try to answer that one. I can't even answer it."

"Is that why you think the humans are better than AI?"

"There's more to it than that, but yes," Rush responded. "They can adapt… They can relearn things. No matter how long I fly like this, I'll still be programmed to be an F4U Corsair… that will never change."

"...but look what they did to themselves." Firefly was attempting to put together the information she'd gathered earlier, even if she wasn't sure how well she was doing. "...they don't act like they should be vehicles."

Rush would have glared, but so much of his energy was being sacrificed to remain at a steady pace that he couldn't. "They aren't meant to be machines, but a lot of them believed it was the only way to survive."

"But how does their adaptability make them better if they did something like that?"

"Without them, there would be no us. We wouldn't exist -and that's the end of the story!"

"Isn't the purpose of successors to improve on the original?"

"So then the original would still be of higher status than us."

"In theory, the successor should be more capable than the original."

Rush's eyes turned red, and he growled to himself. Even so, he didn't say anything, and banked in for a landing. He was annoyed by Firefly and frustrated with himself. Why he'd even decided to go out and fly was beyond him, and that he'd decided to test his new technology was foolish and brash.

The other F-18 attempted to follow, but saw Rush's expression and knew better than to pester too much… even if she didn't think she was. Did she say something? Running through the conversation again… she couldn't find anything. Everything made sense in context… didn't it? Uncertain, she turned her radio on again. "...Rush? Are you okay?"

"I'm all right," he seethed, not giving up any more information on his current status.

She wanted desperately to act on her instincts… even if the last time she did, it hadn't worked out. Instead, she decided to be careful about it… maybe she could figure out what she did wrong. "...you don't sound okay."

In all actuality, Rush wasn't, but he wasn't about to let Firefly know that. "I'm alright."

 _No, you're not._ Firefly was torn… she wanted to know what happened, but she also knew that if she pushed too far she would make it worse. "If you say so… but if I said or did something offensive, please come find me later… I need to know. It's really difficult to figure all this out on my own."

"It wasn't you," Rush sighed. "I wasn't made to be an F-18. Let's leave it at that."

The other plane paused for a second. "Okay… I'll let you alone, then," she said quickly, banking a little further out of the way to allow Rush to land.

Coming in for yet another bumpy landing, Rush spoke, "No. If you want to stay, then that's fine. You know a lot more about flying with these engines, and I need to learn."

Firefly landed smoothly a couple minutes after Rush. "...if I'm teaching you about being this type of plane… would it be okay if you helped me with fitting in? ...I heard Felix say I didn't have any social skills."

"That's not something I can just teach you -a lot of it comes from experience. But yes, I agree to that deal," he said gruffly.

"Okay," she replied, glancing at a bird that had landed nearby for a second. Why she found them interesting, she didn't know… but what she _did_ know was that she had questions. "...what do you do if there's a lull in conversation?"

Rush was taken by surprise -how should he know? "I just wait for the other person to talk first, otherwise whenever I speak it seems forced."

The F-18 then attempted using the advice… that, or she was distracted by the birds. She watched as a model airplane landed next to a sparrow, subsequently threatening it with its tiny propeller and chasing it off, the frightened bird flying back to the cornfields. After a moment, Firefly couldn't keep it up. "... how long does that last before it gets awkward?"

"Until you think it's awkward," Rush replied evasively. "I'm not the best person for advice like this…"

"Better than people that look at me like I'm malfunctioning," she countered. "...which I'm understanding is the majority of people I meet at this point."

"Including me. What other questions do you have?"

"...why don't any of them talk about the Revolution? The government's not watching them… is it?"

Rush was taken by surprise, but answered anyway. "The government may or may not be -you never know… but most people don't talk about it for one of two reasons -one being that AI tends to have trouble computing it without having any concept of humans, and two being that a number of humans have regrets and bitter experiences centered around it."

"But you and I both understand it…"

"But most AI doesn't."

"Why?"

The F4U Corsair gave her a withering glance, "Because the government finds it easier to control AI that way. The less they know, the easier They have it."

"...does that mean we're illegal AI?"

"I'm not… or, wasn't… at least, not before Felix decided to put me in this thing," he glanced towards his wings. "You most certainly are, though."

"Which is why he wants us off the planet… isn't it?"

"Part of the reason, yes," Rush said, looking up to the sky almost wistfully. "We're safer up there, and Earth has a chance of changing if we can contact Starfleet."

"...but how would it change? How do we know that Starfleet will help us?"

"We don't," Rush hissed, exasperated by Firefly's questions, "but we can hope. As for the Earth's change, we might be able to have freedom for once, and could get off of this planet if we so desired.

The other F-18 finally started picking up on Rush's signals. "...sorry I'm asking so many questions… I have my database, but other than that I don't know much of anything." Although… she didn't really understand what 'sorry' meant, either. Was it an emotion?

"That one I can't answer, because even if I did you wouldn't understand. One day," _hopefully,_ "you will."

Firefly paused, wondering if Rush had been addressing her mental question or what she had said… no matter. "...I'd say 'I hope so'... but I don't know what hope is ...I just want to understand."

"Heh… well, emotion isn't so easy to understand," Rush said quietly. "It took me almost two years to actually feel it. Since I was programmed to help humans adjust to their new selves, I knew what emotion _meant_ , just not to the full extent as _feeling_ it."

She sifted through her database, accessing all the information on emotion again, trying to find a pattern. She did. "That's why there's no definitions to them? They're sensations?"

"That is correct. There's no way to describe them to someone who hasn't felt them -like explaining colours to a blind vehicle."

"I guess I know what I'm going to learn, then." _But how do you even understand something like that? It's illogical._

Rush almost laughed aloud, "It's not something you _learn_ , Firefly. It's something you _feel_. You can't learn it, it just comes to you."

"But… that's not logical."

"It's perfectly logical," Rush insisted, "You just have to give the idea a chance."

"How?"

Rush shrugged. "Don't dismiss it as ridiculous. You'll understand emotion in time."

"I'm not dismissing it - I'm just confused. How do you understand it after time? Is there a specific amount of time or something like that?"

"Nope. It's just whenever it happens," Rush answered. "It's nothing anyone can control -even the best of programmers."

"But then how _did_ you figure it out?"

"Look, I don't know. I got annoyed by one of my squadronmates -Burn- and then every emotion came cascading down on me at once." He didn't like talking about his early days… it was filled with too much pain and naive thought.

"...what if it happens at a bad time?" Already she could think of numerous… escaping from Earth being the primary scenario.

"Then you just ignore it and move on. It's not _that_ big of a change, Firefly," Rush groaned, exasperated.

"Well, I wouldn't know," she said innocently, "It's never happened to me, has it?"

"No. You'll know when it does, though. Now, enough questions on your side for now. How do I fly this thing?" He gestured towards his wings.

Firefly paused, thinking. "The only problem I saw with your flying earlier was that your jet and warp engines were confused. That, I think, will probably just take extra concentration until you get used to it."

Rush stared at her blankly. " _Extra concentration_. I can't _concentrate_ when half of my programming is telling me that I'm still an _F4U Corsair_."

"...then maybe listen to the other half instead?" she suggested, somewhat confused.

"It doesn't work like that," Rush almost snapped. "I can't listen to one half of myself whisper and tune out the blatant screaming of the other."

Firefly didn't know what to say - she understood, and yet she didn't. "So you're still programmed to be a Corsair… maybe you can just imagine that you still are one?"

"That doesn't negate the problem of me _not_ being a Corsair. If I tried to fly like I did when I was still… myself… then I'd crash before I even knew what was coming."

"I didn't mean to actually fly how you did before… but you can still _think_ you're a Corsair… just with really heavy modifications. Are there any similarities at all between your new design and what you were before?"

"Not many," Rush sighed, "at least nothing flightwise." He was still getting mixed signals when he did diagnostic tests - everything was both right _and_ wrong at the same time.

"If there _is_ something that's the same, though, maybe you could use that as a constant and expand your connections from there…?"

"Possibly," Rush agreed, "but beyond my programming and the key basic features all planes share, there's not much… I don't think it'd be enough."

"It might have to be. I don't know what you're going through… but what I do know is that you wouldn't have been reactivated if you couldn't handle it."

"Would I? Felix just wanted me alive again. I doubt he gave any thought as to what I could or couldn't handle."

"At the very least he understands how we work."

"Not really. Not even Felix understands what I am yet, or how I am this way…" he sighed.

"But why would he do something to hurt you if he wanted you alive?"

Closing his eyes, Rush thought about it for a long moment. "He wouldn't ever do it purposefully," he said softly, "but Felix is… he's a scientist, and he's not afraid of taking risks. I'm a result of one of those risks, you are too… but anything could go wrong at any time. I don't know how I'm supposed to complete the task he has set for me… I can't hardly fly, even - and we're on a time crunch. If They found us and our real purpose, who knows what they'd do with us."

"Probably disassemble and analyze us. And Felix would be arrested for treason, but that's probably going to happen regardless," Firefly replied simply. More and more connections were forming in her databanks… and, oddly enough, it was making sense. "It's not even a statistical risk staying here. We _would_ die."

Rush cringed, "Possibly, but They are vile. Smart. They'd try to figure out how to use us before they did anything to destroy us…" The more they spoke about it, the more he wanted to get off the planet already.

"Which is why we need to get off of Earth. Your warp engines already work… even if you don't totally know how to fly with them. Neither of us know what space is like, so it might not even be worth it to stay here for practice."

"We also don't know our capabilities," Rush shook his nose vigorously, "it could be suicide to go into space without first learning how we work exactly… but you are right, we shouldn't doddle. One or two more days on Earth. Maximum."

"Okay," she replied. "...and I'm assuming that more flight is on the list of things to do before we leave?" _And possibly going into low orbit at some point?_

"Definitely -to both questions," he said, not realizing she hadn't spoken the second.


	9. Chapter 9

"...I only asked you one question." Firefly was confused. Was there a difference between thinking something and saying something? She thought there was… but now she wasn't sure.

"Hmm? No…" Rush was confused, "You asked two: one about regular flight, and one about orbiting - am I correct?"

"No… you're not correct. I _thought_ about asking you about orbiting… I didn't say it." _Unless you're picking up on my thoughts… I know for a fact I'm not saying this._

The other F-18 stared at her in a stupor. "...there is no way I am reading your mind." _This must be how Neko feels if it's the case…_

"Neko?" she asked, her eyes widening in confusion when she realized he hadn't spoken it. "...there isn't anything in my programming that describes this."

"Nor in mine," Rush agreed, shaking his nose in bewilderment. It was beyond comprehension.

There was silence for a minute. "...should we tell Felix?"

"Probably…"

"I don't know if it's the best course of action, though…" _Would it delay us being able to leave?_ Already it felt almost natural to her… and it'd be easier to keep secrets with an asset like telepathy.

Rush thought it over. He didn't like keeping secrets from Felix, but if he knew, he'd probably want to figure out _how_ and _why_ they were telepathic -not to mention that the more Felix knew about the mission, the more he'd become a wanted vehicle to the government.

"Just because he's the mission commander doesn't mean he's not a security risk… from what I'm understanding so far, nothing on Earth is safe."

"Nothing on Earth _is_ safe," Rush nodded. "We have to get out of here soon…" The more they spoke, the more nervous he got. Every second they spent on Earth was another second they could use to contact the Federation.

"I know. We'll leave whenever you feel adjusted to being this type of plane. I think I've learned enough about this planet." Night was falling. According to her databanks, night meant that vehicles went to sleep. But she wasn't tired. And upon further investigation, she was only supposed to sleep once every few months. Probably for space travel purposes.

"Unfortunately I'm not the same way, I've never _needed_ much sleep, but I'm on a schedule… if it takes us more than a few days to find the Federation, I don't know if I could handle it." Then again, his computers had been older and slower than the ones now. If he were honest, he wasn't tired either.

"Then sleep, even if you're not tired. If we leave tomorrow, you'll need the energy, especially since you can't stay awake for very long." It was odd… their conversation was flowing from thought to speech and back to thought. Anyone else overhearing them would probably think they were both malfunctioning.

"Alright," he agreed, but the broiling feeling at the bottom of his tank told him that he was nervous… It was doubtful he'd get much sleep. "I'd better get going, then." However, he was hesitant to leave. There was so much more he had to learn before the mission.

"...why do emotions do that? It seems illogical."

Rush hadn't expected the question. "I don't exactly know how they work…"

"I wish you did… the concept is so confusing." Firefly stopped herself from asking further questions for the time being… connections could be made later. "Anyways, if you want to go try to sleep… goodnight? Is that the right word?"

"It's right," he snorted, almost amused by the fact she had to even _ask_ the question. Turning to leave, he stopped for a moment. "Even if you may not need it, I'd recommend you at least try to sleep for the night as well."

"I will… who knows how long we're going to be flying." She decided that the best place to sleep would probably be the hangar she was activated in. Looking to the building, she saw that the lights were still on. Odd. But then again, it _was_ a laboratory of sorts.

"My _home_ is not a laboratory," Rush insisted, hearing her thoughts loud and clear. "But you are welcome to stay the night."

"...I didn't know it was your hangar. I'd say I'm sorry, but…" _I still don't know what it is._ The more she was learning about being social, the more confusing it was getting… especially since she didn't know how emotions worked. So many expressions she couldn't truthfully use, even if they felt almost like instinct.

"You'll get there," Rush assured her, "the fact you recognize confusion is a first step. Although it's not really an emotion, I think it's as close as you can get to it without crossing over."

 _But then how-?_ She stopped herself again. Tomorrow would be a day to learn further. Or, at the very least, she could see what space was like. It seemed like an interesting place.

Opening the door to his hangar, Rush found Streak already asleep, curled up in a tangled mass of wings and tail and neck. Try - gently- to shove the dragon over, he positioned himself awkwardly as he tried not to hurt his friend. "Make yourself at home," he shrugged, "I apologize for there not being a whole lot of room."

"You don't have to apologize," she replied quietly. _Though it would probably be better to talk like this since Streak's already asleep… noise wakes people up, right?_

The other F-18 nearly startled, for a moment forgetting that he could read her mind and she could his. Glancing down at Streak, he spotted Neko. The tiny dragon was still wide awake, staring at them both intently - but mostly towards Rush. _Probably…_ he felt particularly uncomfortable under the dragon's gaze. He must have figured out by now that he and Firefly could communicate telepathically.

 _...what is that?_ The creature seemed like it should be something she knew about, but she wasn't entirely sure. It was strange.

 _Neko is some dragon from the same place Streak came from,_ Rush attempted to explain, _he has telepathic ability… typically he can't read AI minds, but I'm the exception._

 _So he can't pick up on me… but he's reading you?_

 _I believe so... but I can't say I'm sure. He doesn't speak English and he hardly ever even speaks Dragonese to Streak. Nobody really knows his full capability._

 _Odd… but then why is he staring at you like that? Is he picking up on the mind-reading?_ If anything, she was curious… this wasn't matching up to anything in her database. More connections.

 _From what I've noticed, yes,_ Rush noticed, though, that at his thoughts Neko turned away, curling up between Streak's shoulders. By the alertness in his ears, it was doubtful he was actually ignoring them.

 _...but if he can pick up on messages, why can't he send them? Aren't thoughts all the same language?_ Of course, she was just trying to put the pieces together… engaging sleep mode wasn't working very well for her, either.

 _I think it has something to do with us being AI,_ Rush was grasping at straws, _and, like I said, he thinks in Dragonese. Even if we could pick up on his thoughts, I doubt we'd be able to understand them._

Firefly paused, realizing how forced the conversation was becoming. _I'm assuming sleep is used as a way to skip time… we can't talk forever._

Rush was thankful for her realization, relaxing some on his landing gear. _Goodnight, then._

She still couldn't figure out how sleep mode worked, but she settled down regardless. At least she could pretend. _Goodnight._


	10. Chapter 10

Rush awoke, finding Firefly still asleep. It was morning, still rather early, and only the soft sound of breathing could be heard. Streak was laying with wings spread across his own, on his back, with his ears hanging down in front of the plane's eyes. Shifting, annoyed, beneath the dragon's weight, he tried to inconspicuously get the other jet's attention. "Spsst, Firefly," he whispered softly, feeling Streak's mass shift some as he said it.

The F-18 stirred a little, waking up at the sound of the other's voice. "...Why is Streak laying on you?" she asked quietly, more confused than anything. That, and her systems weren't completely awake yet.

"Because he always does. I don't think that's the most important thing right now. Today we leave. I can practice flight in space, and you can continue to analyze whatever you need to as well."

"I think I've already made as many connections as I'm going to make here. I haven't been in space, either, so it'd probably be easier for both of us to focus on that." _I ran a system scan last night. Even if I can't synthesize the complete database, it'll still likely be accessible… as far as I know, anyways._

Still startled by the ability to pick up her thoughts, he took a moment to respond. "Good. We have to tell Felix about our departure… Then we should hurry…" _So that we can get off earth ASAP,_ he finished off so that none could overhear.

"Understood. Though I assume you probably need to get Streak off of you first."

Rolling his eyes, he tried to gently slip the dragon off his back. Landing with a thud, the reptile stirred, glanced around, and promptly went back to sleep. _He's used to it._

 _He didn't even flinch...doesn't that hurt?_

Rush shrugged, _If there's one thing I've learned about dragons is that they're hardy creatures._

 _Odd._ she watched the dragon sleeping for a moment, just out of interest, before pushing the hangar door open quietly and exiting. _...what was it we were supposed to tell Felix about?_

 _That we need to leave. If we just up and went, I'd feel like everyone here would worry…_ he corrected himself, _no, Propwash_ will _worry, but at least Felix, Streak, and Neko won't think the government got to us._

Firefly still didn't understand the concept of worry, but didn't bother to ask… it would only result in more confusion. _Understood… let's go find him, then._

 _Right._ Deciding to leave Streak alone for the time being, he carefully attempted to sneak around the dragon. Successful, he slipped outside. "I can't say I know where Felix would be," he told her once they got out into the open. "He tends to wander."

It didn't seem logical. Especially not this early in the morning. "...wouldn't he stay in a hangar or something?"

"Possibly," Rush stated, moving towards one of the abandoned hangars first and foremost. "We'll check his 'home' first. Beats me why he'd decide to hide out in one of these things."

"Agreed. It doesn't really follow logic." Firefly quietly went up to the hangar door, knocking against it somewhat quietly with her wing. At least she knew that much about social norms. When there was no answer, she pushed the door a little. It wasn't locked - in fact, the building wasn't even occupied. "...I'm guessing he moved?"

"Like I said, he's a wanderer." To be honest, Rush was annoyed at Felix's elusive nature. It would serve him well when they left, but they needed to leave _and now._ Part of him wanted to leave a note, but he knew it would be better to get approval from Felix first - just for one final check to make sure everything in both he and Firefly was running smoothly. "I'd suggest a quick flight to try to spot him, but…" he glanced uneasily at his wings. He wasn't sure he wanted to risk it without knowing he could go to the far extent of Earth's atmosphere.

"That wouldn't work, though. Not if he's in a building." Firefly looked around, only to find that they were the only two out and about at the time. "...it might be better to wait and see where he shows up. It's pretty early."

Rush was anxious, worried, and the longer they stayed, the more he felt they were risking their mission. "Sure… Yeah," he muttered, obviously very impatient.

"Besides, we can run more test flights while we wait." _We don't have to try going into orbit yet. Not unless you want to, anyways._ For whatever reason, she didn't exactly want to, either.

 _I think it's best we not,_ he agreed, _but I agree more flight tests are a good idea._ He took it into his own wings to head towards the runway. _I still need to figure out how to switch between warp and jet engines._

Firefly followed Rush, not exactly having anywhere else to go. _...it might not be a good idea to test that yet… last time, you were distorting the sky around you with your warp engines. I don't know if anyone saw or not, but the probability is high that they did._

 _It doesn't matter much now, anyways,_ Rush thought, _but you're right. Probably not a good idea._ Still he was worried about that factor… if he didn't switch from jet to warp engines on time in space, it could be dangerous.

 _It's odd… we have to find the balance between practicing too much and not enough,_ Firefly observed. _If our warp drives work, though, we could outfly anything the government would send after us. Like you said… it doesn't matter much._

 _We should probably practice after we tell Felix that we're leaving. That way if anything goes wrong, all we do is point our noses up and get out of here…_

 _True. But that leads us back to the question of how to find him._

Rush visibly tensed, annoyed by Felix's unpredictability. "That is the question, isn't it…"

 _I can't believe they're getting along already… speech patterns between them are odd, but it was already going to be rather awkward… and at the very least they're speaking. I'll have to ask about that just to make sure nothing in their programming's amiss somehow…_

Firefly stopped quickly, almost startled at the new input of information. It wasn't Rush… and it sounded too British for it to be Felix, even if instinct told her it was. _…did you pick up on that? Or am I just malfunctioning?_

"What?" he spoke aloud, having not heard the same voice as Firefly. It just seemed more natural to physically talk… it was less secretive, and old habit always came faster than new one.

"Nothing," she said simply, lying for the time being. Glancing around quickly, she realized that the car had to be able to see them to be thinking something like that… and sure enough, she spotted him at the Fill N' Fly, watching the two planes with casual interest, though he didn't seem to notice that Firefly had figured out where he was. "Found him."

Rush slid his eyes towards Firefly, then towards Felix. "He can't seem to get it out of his head that we're not just experiments," he commented on Felix's casual staring, "Come on." The F-18 moved to greet the Jaguar, trying to erase the idea of mind reading from his thoughts.

"Obviously," Firefly agreed, preoccupied with trying to figure out how she was reading Felix, of all vehicles… and he didn't even seem to realize that she was.

As soon as the car saw the two planes roll over to him, he snapped out of his contemplative state of mind… or, rather, he focused on what was going on in the outside world for the time being. He pulled out of where he was parked, meeting them halfway. "Hello," he said, "How are you two doing?" He had so many questions… but there were other vehicles out and about... and he had no idea where Maristella was. It was better to wait.

"Good. We have to leave soon," Rush stated cryptically, and casually, "possibly even tonight. Just for a while, at least… we'll be back as soon as possible."

"Oh." Felix was surprised - Rush, of all planes, wanted to leave sooner. "...if you're absolutely sure you're ready, then I see no reason why not," he replied, watching his words as carefully as possible. "Just make sure everything is operational before you go. Your own system scans should be sufficient."

"Really?" he was surprised that Felix was so easily ready to let them go.

"Yes. There's been… developments. You need to run a few more flight tests before you try anything long-distance, but be careful. And if anything goes wrong with either of you, report it to me immediately. Understood?" Felix noted that Firefly was being rather quiet… but she was watching a couple other planes at the runway. Whether it was observation mode or simply zoning out was anybody's guess.

"Rodger that. Firefly and I were thinking that it'd probably be best to experiment in the air some and then leave - the next time we take off is the last time we're setting tire on that runway for a while."

" _Only_ if everything checks out. If anything - absolutely anything - seems amiss, you're coming back down here," the Jaguar said, sounding much more British than normal… the accent was typically nonexistent.

"Rodger that," Rush nodded, irritated by the order. If something went wrong, it was likely that the government would be there immediately. Maristella was here, and even if she was only a student, she was enough to make him uneasy. "I'm… I'm going to say my goodbyes to the dragons," he said, trying to shove that anger away with a pang of sadness. "So I'll be on my way."

"Do you want me to keep Firefly here while you go do that?" Felix asked, "...I don't know if it'd make it any easier at all, but the offer stands."

"It's up to her…" Rush sighed heavily, "It's not going to make it any easier if she's there or not…"

"Ask her, then," Felix said, turning his attention to the other plane. She was still watching the other planes, like she was stuck in a loop of some sort. Or frozen. "Firefly!"

She blinked a couple times, refocusing back to the situation at hand. "Yes? Sorry, I was... nevermind. Not the time."

"I need to say my goodbyes to the dragons," Rush said, holding back emotion from his exterior expressions and voice. "If you'd like to join me, that is fine. It's up to you."

"...I'm not sure what else I _would_ do," she replied, her expression only betraying confusion. Her thoughts were unreadable.

"Wait here if you like, or come, but either way I'll be back," although his thoughts ran clear, they were muddled with the emotions spiraling through him. Turning around towards his hangar, there was one frightened and doubtful sentence that rang clear: _This might be the last time I'll see them…_

Firefly was quiet for a second, still trying to process what she was picking up. "I guess I'll go with you, then," she said, looking back at Felix for a second. _...I wish I could be more help than just being there. Your emotions are so confusing._

 _I've known Streak and Neko a long time,_ he hated himself for bringing it up in the first place. _Once you get to know someone for that long, they become part of you. Their inputs become… become part of your usual routine._ Hopefully those were words she understood.

When they arrived, Streak was atop the hangar, his wings spread and head tilted towards the sun. He looked perfectly content and serene: ignorant of Rush's leaving. The dragon's eyes snapped open when Neko warbled a sound tainted with slight panic and shock. "You're leaving? _Now?_ " The lizard jumped down, half gliding, half falling off the building. "Why now? Why not tomorrow… or next week?"

"Because the longer we stay on Earth, the more dangerous it gets for all of us," Rush answered, trying to sound reasonable. "If we have any chance of succeeding in capturing Starfleet's attention, we have to leave now. Today."

Streak tangled himself atop Rush, his neck resting across the plane's nose and head tilted towards his windscreen. "In how long?"

"A few hours at most… We've already cleared it with Felix," Rush said, the ache of leaving Earth tainting his voice. "You and Neko take care of the hanger for me, alright?"

Neko chittered something in response, and Streak, whose eyes were now glossy with tears, spoke, "We will."

Steeling himself, Rush shook Streak off him gently. "I'll see you soon, then. Don't let Felix burn the town down while Fire and I are gone." Neko chirped, rubbing his face against the huge plane's landing gear. Rush couldn't see it, but the dragon's eyes were orbs of blackness: his violet pupils not even visible.

 _Good luck._

Startled by the new voice in his head, he rolled back a few paces. Neko scampered away from the danger, climbing up upon Streak and leaping onto Rush's nose. _You heard me. Good luck._ Then, chattering in Dragonese again, the dragon's eyes returned to normal, Neko gave a nod and scampered back to Streak.

"I wish you didn't have to go," Streak whimpered, for once respecting the plane's personal space: one which he often invaded, but knew Rush didn't like tampered with.

"We have to, Streak," Firefly said, having separated herself slightly from the others. "If we don't… the government will find us soon enough. There's already an agent here, and it's unknown if she saw what happened yesterday or not."

Nodding solemnly, Streak understood… but it didn't mean he liked it. "Then you should go now," he said, starting to slink towards the runways, "I'll see you off."

Firefly continued to stay a short distance from Rush, even as they went back over to the runway. This was… she thought it was sentimental, but she couldn't be sure. Even if she didn't want to ruin the moment, she spoke again anyways. "...why are you sad?"

"Me?" Rush asked, quickly switching to telepathic conversation. _This is the last time I might see these two. If anything goes wrong in space, we could be stranded there for eternity. If anything happens on Earth…_ even the thought was too dangerous to think. _Nevermind. It won't happen._

 _Nothing will go wrong in space, either… the statistical chances aren't as high as what they could be, anyways. Getting caught here or while escaping the atmosphere is a higher probability… 99 point 3 percent was the last estimate._

Rush visibly flinched at the numbers. _Charming._

 _...I'm assuming that was sarcasm. The .7 percent chance that we DO make it without confrontation is working in our favor, however. We should have been caught by now… it's the phenomenon of luck, from what I understand._ Firefly was no longer focused much on conversation - only on the task ahead. Whatever happened, they had to make it off the planet. Or, more importantly, Rush did.

 _You can't say something positive for once?_ He thought bitterly, _Let's just get off this planet. The sooner we leave, the better our chances. Let's just hope I can transition well enough into warp engines…_ He glanced over to Streak, who was giving them odd looks as Neko relayed the telepathic waves he was picking up from Rush.

"You'll be fine," he said in a voice supposed to be strong.

"You were doing better yesterday." It was a weak attempt to be encouraging. "And you have more experience than I do..." _Even if it doesn't have to do with space specifically, it's still something._

Rush tried to shove the thoughts away and focus on the task ahead. What would happen would happen. There was no changing the next events for better or for worse. "Rush 36 to Propwash Tower, a flight of two is ready for takeoff," he relayed, taking a breath. He gave a lonesome smile towards Streak and Neko as the two planes got clearance to take off.

"Good luck."


End file.
